The Process of Inspiration

In one of the most thought provoking books I've read this year, Old Testament scholar John H. Walton notes 7 stages in the development of the Old Testament prophetic books.

Eric Tully delineates seven stages in the movement from prophetic word to prophetic book. He identifies these stages as

1. prophetic event (the message coming to the prophet through word or vision)
2. rhetorical event (delivering the message to an audience)
3. transcriptional event (reducing the message content to writing)
4. compilation event (gathering the various written oracles together by temple officials, scribes, or followers/sympathizers)
5. narratorial event (setting the oracles in a narrative context)
6. editorial event (producing the book as we know it, combining oracles and narratives)
7. nominal event (providing a superscription to identify the prophet and the setting)
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This provides a helpful recognition of steps that must take place moving from prophet to complete book. If we were to move an additional step from book to Scripture, we would have to add canonization as an eighth step.
Walton, John H. 2024. The Lost World of the Prophets: Old Testament Prophecy and Apocalyptic Literature in Ancient Context. Lost World Series. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press. pp. 74-75.​

Inspiration is not a one time event but a continuing process of receiving, exposition, compilation, evaluation, and re-compilation.

Some of these processes may be carried over into the NT books.

Rob